Since early morning, the Palace of Vacuity bustled with activity, looking as busy as a marketplace.
Besides the officials who had come to clock in for work as usual, the guests who had flocked from both within and outside the city, near and far, also included local nobles and foreign merchants, property owners and workshop managers, guild representatives and bureaucrats of various levels, and even representatives of coachmen associations and dockworkers, covering nearly all the livelihood circles that could be found in Emerald City.
The palace gates were so congested that it was impossible to get through, and the noise was unceasing, with the grounds being packed with horse-drawn carriages, palanquins, and servants. There were also occasional disputes and even fights over parking spaces and order.
